Sun: Ticket expert Radar Rodney says legislation unfair to motorists
A former traffic enforcement specialist with the Winnipeg Police Service, who now fights tickets on behalf of motorists, says a stipulation in provincial law will eliminate a key tool in a driver’s ability to contest speeding tickets in court….
David Milward, an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba, said the new legislation is “highly unusual” and could be contested under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“Very often you need the police officer to substantiate the charge,” he said. “… The defence has to have a fair opportunity to try and show it up. There’s also a Charter right to full answer and defence to contest a Crown’s evidence. But here it’s like you’re not giving the defence that opportunity. I think this potentially introduces a medicine worse than the disease.”
Milward said the spirit of the legislation may lie in limiting those who contest a ticket strictly on the hopes an officer will be unable to attend court.
“What makes it a bit bothersome is whether it dispenses the presumption of innocence and whether the Crown can prove the speeding ticket,” he said.